One British Minister Wants Britain to Become Albania, Another Wants to Quit Human Rights

Madness has hit the British Isles.

From the Guardian:

Albania’s prime minister has criticised Michael Gove, the justice secretary, for suggesting that the UK should adopt Albania’s relationship with the EU. Given that Albania wants to join the EU, Edi Rama said this was “ridiculous”. Rama told the World at One:

When I heard about it I thought it was a joke.

Then when I read it knowing that Mr Gove is one of the very intelligent persons in the UK politics I thought it was kind of weird because why in the world Brits would have to follow a model we don’t want for ourselves. We think it’s the other way round.

Talking about this new BBC—British Balkan Confederation—is really amazing, but not for serious politics. I am sorry to that because I have a lot of respect for Mr Gove as a person and it’s, let me say bluntly, ridiculous.

Earlier, writing in the Times, Rama said Albania had only limited access to the EU’s market in services, no passport for financial services, its banks could not operate across Europe in the way British banks can, and it was outside the EU customs union which meant it faced costly red tape.

In his speech last week Gove said:

There is a free trade zone stretching from Iceland to Turkey that all European nations have access to, regardless of whether they are in or out of the euro or EU. After we vote to leave we will remain in this zone. The suggestion that Bosnia, Serbia, Albania and the Ukraine would remain part of this free trade area—and Britain would be on the outside with just Belarus—is as credible as Jean-Claude Juncker joining Ukip.

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Theresa May has said that Britain should withdraw from the European convention on human rights regardless of the EU referendum result.